I did not know this: Beijing has been home to one of three Chinese Hooters restaurants since 2008.

She works hard for the money... So hard for the money...

The LA Times ran a piece before the weekend describing the thriving franchise locations, and noting the significance of their success in a sexually confused China.

Author Lily Kuo wonders if the ladies in orange short-shorts might actually be ushering in a powerful new kind of sexuality for China’s micromanaged population, allowing them a “clean,” safe, “family” experience that emboldens young and enticing females:

On the scale of China’s sexual evolution, Hooters lands somewhere between a wink and a smile. Unthinkable two decades ago, the restaurant promotes a playful kind of sexuality different from the country’s seedy massage parlors and hostess bars, and yes, it serves the chain’s famous wings too.

The restaurant may be another example of globalization in China, but it’s also a snapshot of changing attitudes toward sex in a country full of contradictions. Gone are the days when public displays of affection were frowned upon, although selected things remain off-limits.

It’s possible, she writes, that the popular Chinese Hooters locations might actually reflect a shift towards what Kuo calls “hot-girl economics,” where female sex appeal is the bargaining chip (American readers, you may, uh, be familiar).

All I know is that any time I’m sitting at a restaurant table and a goofy-grinned girl kneels down too close to ask me if I’d like to add some fish to my wing order, while wearing slippery nylons under polyester shorts and shoving her cans in my face, I get sad. I don’t get hungry.

And I’m pretty sure that feeling applies to both Chinese and American goofy-grinned girls in polyester shorts.

Sexist? Or just stupid? In my humble opinion: after the age of 22, taking any public photo in shorts is downright irresponsible. I don’t care who the hell you are, what job you’ve got, how great your gams are, how fast you are on a Blackberry, or how many times you wink at me. Not a good idea.